I've been away from this forum for quite a while and a lot has happened since. Many positive things have occurred in my life such as graduating from my PhD, new job, new baby, bought land, and soon to be new house. I could easily argue 2013 was my annus mirabilis. However, with increasing expectations and life demands, the life of a carefree uni student is now long gone. The absence from this forum is correlated with a dramatic drop in fitness and increased weight gain (>20kg) all as a direct result of no saddle time (and gym/kickboxing).

So I've settled into my new job and commuting by train and/or car is a suck. Changing stations three times is no fun and paying $15 of tolls/day isn't what I call economical. Lately i have been driving to work via the M7 and M2 and notice the bike lanes are overall better than what I used to ride (M5). M5 used to have lots of bits of glass and debris that changing a tube per trip was an expectation.

To cut a long story short, I want to know others opinions on riding the M7 and M2 in terms of safety and road condition. Unfortunately, deaths on the M7 are too frequent and is something I am genuinely concerned about. When I used to ride the M5 in peak hour I felt relatively safe because it was always full of traffic. Can the same be said of the M7? I enter from Wallgrove Rd and exit on Christie St on the M2.

Also I'd like to know how I can ease myself or transition into the commuting all over again. As far as I am concerned, I'm starting from zero fitness. And a 60km ride off the bat is a bit of a stretch for a freshie..

Thanks in advance, it has been a while. I look forward to talking to you guys again.

TonyMax wrote:Would you ride the road? I've never ridden up there but the M7 seems to have a pearler of a bike path all the way along...

Hi Tony,I am thinking of the road, as in the shoulder lane of the motorway. I've seen the bike path that runs along it as I drive but have no idea when it begins and ends. This commute in my estimation will already be 2.5 hours, stretching it to 3 is a lot lol.

Yes some cyclists ride on the shoulder of the M7. Given that it is one of the best bike paths in Sydney, I prefer to ride on the M7 path. Further the M2 eastbound remains closed to cyclists from Pennant Hills Rd to Delhi Rd

From Canley Vale though, that is not the way I would head however- I would follow the railway to Parramatta & then Parramatta River to Ryde & then up the hill to Macquarie Uni, for a total of 29 km http://goo.gl/maps/xkBAu

find_bruce wrote:Yes some cyclists ride on the shoulder of the M7. Given that it is one of the best bike paths in Sydney, I prefer to ride on the M7 path. Further the M2 eastbound remains closed to cyclists from Pennant Hills Rd to Delhi Rd

From Canley Vale though, that is not the way I would head however- I would follow the railway to Parramatta & then Parramatta River to Ryde & then up the hill to Macquarie Uni, for a total of 29 km http://goo.gl/maps/xkBAu

Wow, thanks Bruce - this is why I love forums. That would had been a rude surprise riding the M2 only to find I couldn't even access it.That bike path function on Google Maps is quite impressive.29km vs. 57km - maybe when I'm 70kgs and with a 20k bike I'll do the longer version for fun.

No idea about south of the M4, but once there, I'd take the M4 path/Adderley St through to Olympic park (enter via the path at Haslam's creek) rather than the North side of the river, then Rhodes, cross over the river at the old rail bridge to Meadowbank, then streets (Bowden, Melville, North, Heath) through to the end of the Shrimpton's creek path at Santa Rosa Park on Quarry Rd.

Bruce's route looks good but adds quite a bit of distance going along the river to Meadowbank. A more direct route from Parramatta is to go through Dundas Valley and Eastwood.

At some point you'll be climbing up from the river, on Bruce's route this would be up Melville St to Blaxland Rd, if you go through Dundas Valley it would be Perry Street up to Eastwood. If you've not been riding much you might want to walk these sections until the legs improve!

I ride to Mq from Telopea most days via Perry Street, it's an excellent heart starter!

One option for a gradual start would be to ride to Parramatta and then jump on the 545 bus up to Macquarie.

stevecassidy wrote:Bruce's route looks good but adds quite a bit of distance going along the river to Meadowbank. A more direct route from Parramatta is to go through Dundas Valley and Eastwood.

At some point you'll be climbing up from the river, on Bruce's route this would be up Melville St to Blaxland Rd, if you go through Dundas Valley it would be Perry Street up to Eastwood.

If the ultimate destination is mq Uni, I don't think that route is too bad. It leads straight to the Shrimpton's Creek shared path, which starts just at the end of Heath St, directly off North rd. It takes you all the way to Waterloo Rd and into the Uni.The only bit that hurts is Melville Rd!

If the aim is to avoid the worst of the hills, I'd go the same way as far as Meadowbank Tafe, but instead of turning right onto McPherson at from See St, I would go left. You can then follow the road down to West Ryde, crossing Victoria Rd on Hermitage Rd, left into Wattle St, then right into Ryedale Rd. Just as you get faced with the impossible climb, turn left onto the short SUP around to Denistone Station, follow East Pde along the railway to Eastwood, cross over First Ave at Eastwood, continue ahead into May St, then left into Ball Ave. Cross over Blaxland Rd, take a left into Vimiera Rd and take this all the way to the end (crossing over Epping Rd). That joins up with the Waterloo Rd/Talavera Rd SUPs and access to the Uni from the other side.It is a longer route, and if I was commuting it then I would probably ditch the long route as soon as I was ready for Mellville every day.

Last edited by queequeg on Sun Mar 02, 2014 7:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

duncanm wrote:No idea about south of the M4, but once there, I'd take the M4 path/Adderley St through to Olympic park (enter via the path at Haslam's creek) rather than the North side of the river, then Rhodes, cross over the river at the old rail bridge to Meadowbank, then streets (Bowden, Melville, North, Heath) through to the end of the Shrimpton's creek path at Santa Rosa Park on Quarry Rd.

The M4 route will be slightly longer - the M4's direction is more south-easterly than the Parramatta R cycleway route and so adds some more back-tracking. It also has more street crossingsthat have lots of cross-traffic in peak hours, so I doubt it would be shorter or faster.

The route google suggests through Parramatta is using James Ruse Drive - which would be pretty hectic in peak hour traffic. For an alternative, see the RidetheCity alternative. It also shows a slightly different route through Meadowbank and West Ryde - probably worth testing each of them to seewhich is more sedate.

Good luck with the ride.

WombatK

Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us -Jerry Garcia

Nice to see someone quite local, I'm less than 5km away from Canley Vale (Villawood) - the couple of times I have ridden in that direction, I have generally gone via the rail trail, M4, Olympic Park, Rhodes and a bit of road riding on the approach to MQ

Re: commuting, I ride for fitness/socially somewhat regularly but my commute from Villawood to UNSW which is a return trip of 70km is something I will be easing into, rather than jumping straight in and doing consecutive days. I just started commuting yesterday, and you have to take into consideration how much the day's activities and tasks will drain you, and the pace you commute at vs how much time you allow yourself etc. So if starting from square 1, maybe do a recon ride or two during the weekend to know the route's intensity and the pace you'll do it at. Carry the same weight you'll be carrying during the commute, and after your recon ride is done, add some extra time to account for traffic and whatnot.

minhyy wrote:Nice to see someone quite local, I'm less than 5km away from Canley Vale (Villawood) - the couple of times I have ridden in that direction, I have generally gone via the rail trail, M4, Olympic Park, Rhodes and a bit of road riding on the approach to MQ

Re: commuting, I ride for fitness/socially somewhat regularly but my commute from Villawood to UNSW which is a return trip of 70km is something I will be easing into, rather than jumping straight in and doing consecutive days. I just started commuting yesterday, and you have to take into consideration how much the day's activities and tasks will drain you, and the pace you commute at vs how much time you allow yourself etc. So if starting from square 1, maybe do a recon ride or two during the weekend to know the route's intensity and the pace you'll do it at. Carry the same weight you'll be carrying during the commute, and after your recon ride is done, add some extra time to account for traffic and whatnot.

Goodluck

Hey Minh, thanks for the reply. I;m guessing you're Vietnamese? The name and area matches that demographic! I am too so no racial profiling here.

What do you do at UNSW? I used to ride from Liverpool to there. I might have to apply the same routine I had when i first started. That is, like you said ride it on the weekend to have a feel for the intensity and route, and also ride on alternate days and allow an additional 30minutes!

Yep, fellow Viet here I'm in my final year as journalism student. Is the Liverpool-UNSW route on the UNSW bike club yours? Come join some other Sydney locals for the monthly retro ride, more info here (no need for a retro bike)

minhyy wrote:Yep, fellow Viet here I'm in my final year as journalism student. Is the Liverpool-UNSW route on the UNSW bike club yours? Come join some other Sydney locals for the monthly retro ride, more info here (no need for a retro bike)

Hey Minh, journalism! Good stuff.No that wouldn't be mine, I didn't ever join the club so..I would love to come along some time. How do you get back??!!

You mean how to get back home from the ride? The rides start at a designated point and finish at the same point. You either ride back or take the nearest train home. The next ride is planned to be on the 22nd to coincide with the Sydney Classic Bike show, check back on the thread for updates or send me a PM with any other questions

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